Attachments for printing devices



p 1964 J. w. CARLSON ATTACHMENTS FOR PRINTING DEVICES Filed Aug. 8, 1961 (7f/ll/ I INVENTOR: 4 "gr"- JOHN W. CARLSON ATT'YS United States Patent 3,149,564 AT'iAfIHMlENTS FUR PRINTING DEVICES John W. Carison, Chicago, 1th., assignor to Speed-@- Print Business Machines Corporation, Chicago, 111., a

corporation of lliinois Filed Aug. 8, 1961, Ser. No. 130,071 Claims. (Cl. 101413) This invention relates to attachments for printing devices, and, more particularly, to gauge bars which are particularly well adapted for use on hand-operated printing machines, such as, for example, addressing machines, and the like.

Gauge bars have heretofore been known in the art for use on printing machines, and the like. Such bars are normally disposed in such position on a printing machine, or the like, as to afford an abutment member for engaging the forward end of a sheet of paper, or the like, as the latter is fed into the machine to thereby act as a stop member for stopping such movement of the paper when the latter is disposed in proper position in the machine. Such bars also commonly have indicia to assist the operator in determining the proper lateral positioning of the paper in the machine.

Such gauge bars as have heretofore been known in the art have commonly had several inherent disadvantages, such as, for example, that they did not rest flat on the printing table of the machine in all positions of the gauge bar, and therefore, were inefiective as a paper stop in some positions, especially for thinner articles, such as, for example, single sheets of paper, and the like. It is an important object of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages.

Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel gauge bar of the aforementioned type, wherein the parts are so constituted and arranged that the bar is effective in all adjusted positions to stop even the thinner sheets of paper, and the like, in proper printing position on the machine.

Another object is to afford a novel gauge bar of the aforementioned type wherein the parts are so constituted and arranged that they automatically adjust for irregularities in the printing table so as to maintain the stopping portions of the bar in direct contact with the printing table in all adjusted positions of the gauge bar.

Yet another object of the present invention is to afford a novel gauge bar of the aforementioned type which embodies novel abutment members thereon, with the abutment members constituted and arranged in a novel and expeditious manner.

A further object is to afford a novel gauge bar of the aforementioned type which embodies such novel abutment members in the form of clips, which are movably carried by the main body portion of the bar for movement both longitudinally and laterally thereof, so that the clips may be readily adjusted longitudinally of the bar and are xtloatingly supported thereon for vertical movement.

Another object is to afford a novel gauge bar of the aforementioned type which is practical and efiicient in operation, and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing 3,149,564 Patented Sept. 22, 1964 "ice from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front top perspective view of a hand-operated addressing machine including a gauge bar embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a detail sectional view similar to FIG. 3, but showing certain parts thereof in different adjusted position.

A printing machine in the form of a hand-operated addressing machine 1, and including a gauge bar or stop bar 2 embodying the principles of the present invention, is shown in the drawings to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The addressing machine 1 includes, in general, a base 3 having a top wall 4 which affords the printing table of the machine. A stamper-type platen 5 is carried by the free end of a platen arm 6 which is pivotally mounted on the base 3 in such position that downward movement of the platen 5 is effective to dispose it in abutting relation to an inked ribbon 7 disposed in the top wall 4 above an anvil 8.

The gauge bar 2 includes an elongated body member 9, which is substantially channel-shaped in transverse cross-section, FIGS. 3 and 4. The body portion 9 includes a front wall 10 and a rear wall 11, extending longitudinally thereof, and connected at their upper edge portions by a top wall 12, FIGS. 3 and 4. The front wall 10 is somewhat longer than the rear wall 11 and projects downwardly from the top wall 12 a'somewhat greater distance than the rear wall 11, for a purpose which will be discussed in greater detail presently.

Two latching levers or latches 13 and 14 are pivotally mounted on opposite ends of the body portion 9 of the gauge bar 2 by pins 15 and 16, respectively, FIGS. 1 and 2, the pins extending through the upper edge portions of the front Walls 10 and 11 of the body portion 9, and through arms 17 and 18 on the pawls 13 and 14, respectively, which project into the respective adjacent ends of the body portion 9 of the gauge bar 2. Two leaf springs 19 and 20 are mounted on pins 21 and 22, respectively, which also extend through the upper end portions of the front wall 10 and rear wall 1 of the body portion 9 of the gauge bar 2, FIGS. 24. The springs 19 and 20 are so disposed in the body portion 9 in such position that the inner ends thereof engage the lower face of the top wall 12, and the outer ends thereof engage the lower free edge portions of the arms 17 and 18, respectively, to thereby yieldingly urge the latches 13 and 14, respectively to rotate in such a direction as to move the lower end portions 23 and 24 thereof, respectively, inwardly toward the body portion 9, FIG. 2.

As may be seen in FIG. 2, the lower end portions 23 and 24 of the latches 13 and 14 are hook shaped, with the free end portions of the hooks projecting inwardly toward each other. The top wall 4 of the base 3 of the printing machine 1 has two grooves 25 and 26 formed in the sides 27 and 28 thereof, respectively, and extend longitudinally thereof, FIGS. 1 and 2. The grooves 25 and 26 are so disposed in the top wall 4, and the latches 13 and 14 are so disposed on the body portion 9 of the gauge bar 2, that when the gauge bar 2 is disposed in a normal position on the printing machine 1, asshown in FIG. 2, and the latches 13 and 14 are disposed in normal at-rest position as shown in solid lines in FIG. 2, the hooked ends 23 and 24 are engaged in the grooves 25 and 26 to releasably hold the gauge bar 2 in adjusted position on the printing machine 1. If it is desired to remove the gauge bar 2 from the printing machine 1, this may be readily accomplished by pivoting the latches 13 and 14 from the positions shown in solid lines into the positions shown in broken lines, FIG. 2 to thereby release the hooked ends 23 and 24 from engagement with the top wall 4, and then lifting the gauge bar 2 from the printing machine 1.

The grooves 25 and 26 are elongated and extend longitudinally of the side walls 27 and 23, respectively, so that the gauge bar 2 may thus be moved forwardly and rear- Wardly along the top wall 4 of the printing machine 1 into various adjusted positions. When the gauge bar 2 is disposed in normal adjusted position on the printing machine 1, it extends laterally thereacross, as shown in FIG. 1, with the lower edge disposed in abutting engagement with, or at least in close proximity to, the upper face of the top wall 4. Ideally, of course, the lower edge 29 of the body portion 9 throughout its length, will rest on the upper surface of the top wall 4 in all adjusted positions of the gauge bar 2. However, it has long been known that in actual practice, such ideal conditions are seldom met. Even when the gauge bars heretofore known in the art have been carefully manufactured, so that the lower edges thereof are originally truly straight and flat, and the Wall members on which they are to rest have also been properly manufactured so that they originally present a truly uniplanar upper surface, either the gauge bars or the wall members, or both, commonly become deformed so that, at least in certain adjusted positions of such gauge bars, the lower edge portions thereof are spaced upwardly from the upper surface of the wall member on which they were mounted a sufiicient distance as to permit at least the thinner articles to be printed, such as, for example, single sheets of paper, to slip thereunder. When this occurs, of course, it destroys the effectiveness of such gauge bars to act as a paper stop for properly positioning the paper to be printed in a machine. The present invention has overcome this disadvantage.

The gauge bar 2, shown in the drawings, includes two abutment members in the form of two clips 30 and 31, movably mounted on the body portion 9 of the gauge bar 2. The clips 36 and 31 are identical in construction, and each includes a front wall 32, a rear wall 33, and a top wall 34 extending between the upper edge portions of the front wall 32 and rear wall 33, FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. The clips 30 and 31 are mounted on the body portion 9 of the gauge bar 2, with the front wall 32 disposed outwardly of the front wall 10, the rear wall 33 disposed rearwardly of the rear wall 11, and the top wall 34 disposed above the top wall 12, FIGS. 3 and 4. The clips 30 and 31 are of such size and configuration that they fit on the body portion 9 with a relatively snug, but freely slidable fit, so that they are movablelongitudinally of the body portion 9, and also are movable vertically relative thereto. The lower end portion 35 of the rear wall 33 of each of the clips 39 and 31 is turned inwardly toward the front wall 32 thereof to aiford an abutment member which is disposed vertically below the lower edge of the rear wall 11 of the body portion 9 in all positions of the clips 3% and 31, and is effective to limit upward movement of the clip 30 or 31 on the body portion 9. The latches 13 and 14 project above the body portion 9 in position to act as stop members effective to prevent complete removal of the clips 30 and 31 from the body portion 9, longitudinally thereof.

The walls 32 and 33 of the clips 39 and 31 are some what longer than the walls 10 and 11, respectively, of the body portion 9, FIGS. 3 and 4, so that when the top wall 34 of the clips 3% and 31 rest on top of the top wall 12 of the body portion 9, the walls 32 and 33 of the clips 31 project downwardly below the walls 10 and 11 of the body portion 9, respectively, FIG. 3. The lower end portion 35' of the rear wall 33 of each of the clips 30 and 31 is disposed in such position that when the clips 30 and 31 are disposed in fully raised position, wherein the end por- 4. tion 35 is disposed in abutting engagement with the lower edge of the rear wall 11 of the body portion 9, the bottom edge of the front wall 32 of that clip 36 or 31 is disposed in uniplanar relation to the lower edge 29 of the front wall 16 of the body portion 9, FIG. 4.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that when the lower edge 23 of the body portion 9 rests on the upper surface of the top Wall t of the printing machine 1, throughout its length, the clips 33 and 31 are disposed in fully raised position, as shown in FIG. 4, with the bottom edge of the clips 3% and 31 also disposed in abutting engagement with the upper surface of the top wall 4 of the printing machine 1. However, if for any reason, the lower edge portion 29 of the body portion 9 does not rest on the upper surface of the top wall 4 of the printing machine 1, such as, for example, under conditions wherein the top wall 4 has become bowed downwardly, or the body portion 9 of the gauge bar 2 has become bowed upwardly, the clips 30 and 31 may move downwardly relative to the body portion 3 to maintain the lower edges of the front walls 32 thereof in abutting engagement with the upper surfaces of the top wall 4, and thereby afford an effective stop for paper, or the like, being fed onto the top wall 4 of the printing machine 1.

The clips 30 and 31 may be adjusted longitudinally of the body portion 9 of the gauge bar 2 to thereby dispose them in proper position therealong to afford the most efficient paper stops for sheets of paper, or the like, of a particular size. I

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a novel gauge bar which affords a novel and practical paper stop which automatically adjusts itself for irregularities in the gauge bar or in the paper-supporting surface with which it is being used.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although I have shown the gauge bar 2 as being used on an addressing machine, this is merely by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, and that it may be used on other printing machines, or the like, without departing from the purview of the present invention.

Also, it will be seen that the present invention affords a novel gauge bar which is practical and efiicient in operation and may be readily and economically produced commercially.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited .to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A gauge bar comprising an elongated horizontally extending body member, means on said body member for holding said bar in position of use, said body member having a front wall, a rear wall, and abutment means, said abutment means comprising a bottom edge for said rear Wall and being disposed above the bottom edge of said front wall, and a clip having a front wall and a rear wall,

said clip being mounted on said body member with said last mentioned front and rear walls disposed outwardly of and in substantially parallel juxtaposition to said first mentioned front and rear walls, respectively/said clip being movable upwardly and downwardly be'tween a position wherein said front Wall of said clipprojects downwardly below said front wall of said body member and a position wherein said front walls terminate at their lower edges in the same horizontal plane, said clip having abutment means engageable with said first-mentioned abutment means in position to limit said upward movement of said clip.

2. A gauge bar as defined in claim 1 and in which said second-mentioned front wall projects downwardly below said second-mentioned rear wall, and said abutrnent means 5 on said clip comprises a forwardly projecting flange on said second-mentioned rear wall.

3. A gauge bar as defined in claim 1, and in which said second-mentioned abutment means comprises a forwardly projecting flange on said second-mentioned rear Wall disposed in position to abuttingly engage said bottom edge of said first-mentioned rear wall.

4. A gauge bar as defined in claim 1, and which includes holding means mounted on the outer end portions of said body member in position to limit outward movement of said clip longitudinally of said body member.

5. A gauge bar comprising a horizontally extending substantially straight elongated body member, said body member having a front wall and a rear wall, said rear wall having an elongated, horizontally extending, downwardly facing abutment member, a clip movably mounted on said body member for movement longitudinally and vertically relative thereto, said clip being of downwardly opening channel-shape in transverse cross-section and having a second front wall and a second rear wall, said second front wall projecting below said second rear wall,

said second front and rear walls being disposed outwardly of and in substantially parallel juxtaposition to said firstmentioned front and rear walls, respectively, said clip being movable upwardly and downwardly relative to said body member into and out of a position wherein the upper portion of said clip rests on top of said body membar and the bottom edge of said second front Wall projects downwardly below the bottom edge of said firstmentioned front wall, said second rear wall having a forwardly projecting flange on the lower edge portion thereof in position to abuttingly engage said downwardly facing abutment member to thereby limit upward movement of said clip relative to said body member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,385,169 Bradley July 19, 1921 1,720,655 Brown July 9, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,620 Great Britain of 1910 

1. A GAUGE BAR COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING BODY MEMBER, MEANS ON SAID BODY MEMBER FOR HOLDING SAID BAR IN POSITION OF USE, SAID BODY MEMBER HAVING A FRONT WALL, A REAR WALL, AND ABUTMENT MEANS, SAID ABUTMENT MEANS COMPRISING A BOTTOM EDGE FOR SAID REAR WALL AND BEING DISPOSED ABOVE THE BOTTOM EDGE FOR SAID REAR FRONT WALL, AND A CLIP HAVING A FRONT WALL AND REAR WALL, SAID CLIP BEING MOUNTED ON SAID BODY MEMBER WITH SAID LAST MENTIONED FRONT AND REAR WALLS, DISPOSED OUTWARDLY OF AND IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL JUXTAPOSITION TO SAID FIRST MENTIONED FRONT AND REAR WALLS, RESPECTIVELY, SAID CLIP BEING MOVABLE UPWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY BETWEEN A POSITION WHEREIN SAID FRONT WALL OF SAID CLIP PROJECT DOWNWARDLY BELOW SAID FRONT WALL OF SAID BODY MEMBER AND A POSITION WHEREIN SAID FRONT WALLS TERMINATE AT THEIR LOWER EDGES IN THE SAME HORIZONTAL PLANE, SAID CLIP HAVING ABUTMENT MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID FIRST-MENTIONED ABUTMENT MEANS IN POSITION TO LIMIT SAID UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID CLIP. 